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Ghaziabad Police arrested a 32-year-old man on Wednesday for alleged hate speech in connection with a communal incident. According to the police, a video had recently gone viral on social media in which Shekhar Chauhan, who claims to be a member of Karni Sena, can be heard making objectionable comments against a minority community.
The video was shot during a gathering outside Dasna Temple in March this year, days after a Muslim boy had been beaten up allegedly for drinking water inside its premises.
“The accused was arrested from his Rajnagar Extension residence. A case had been filed against him in Masuri Police Station for his comments earlier this year. He was absconding. We are investigating other associates and appropriate action will be taken,” said an officer from Masuri police station.
An FIR had been registered under section 153 A(committing offence in religious place), 295 A (intent to outrage religious feelings), 504 (intentional insult), 505 (offence in worship place) and relevant sections of the IT Act.
The accused hails from Shamli and introduced himself as a member of Karni Sena in the clip that went viral. He spoke of attacking pregnant women from the minority community in it.
The gathering, during which the alleged video was shot, took place at the Dasna Devi temple days after a 14-year-old Muslim boy was assaulted for entering it. The locals in the temple had allegedly beaten him from drinking water, saying Muslims were not allowed on the temple premises. A series of gatherings were held in support of the temple chief, Swami Narsinghanand, following the incident.